McDermott again swims upstream to save salmon

Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott, who P-I scribe Joel Connelly likes to describe as the Emerald City’s “congressman for life,” is swimming upstream again on the politics of salmon.

Lifetime upstream-swimmer Jim McDermott
P-I Photo/Andy Rogers

Today McDermott introduced the Salmon Economic Planning and Analysis Act, which calls on the General Accounting Office and National Academy of Sciences to reconsider all the options for saving our signature fish — including poking big holes in the Snake River dams.

Similar legislation hasn’t gone far in the past. But, hey, lots of stuff is different in D.C. nowadays. And McDermott does have 31 co-sponsors, including some Republicans. It’s true, as the P-I editorial board recently pointed out, that it may well be possible to satisfy the economic imperatives of the region while breaching the dams. But, wow, it’s like political dynamite, it seems, every time it comes up. And the Bonneville Power Administration recently disputed claims that the economic hit could be ameliorated.